(2) OLIVER LAKE
EDGE-ING
BLACK SAINT 120104
(3) KENNY REED
INTRODUCING
JAZZ KARMA JKR-911
(4) RICHARD TABNIK
LIFE AT THE CORE
NEW ARTISTS NA1016
This is comparable roughly to Erik Pakula's latest effort on CJR, except Pakula's quartet yearns to fracture melodies and harmonies while Tabnik wants to continue asserting them over and over, with growing force and increasing rhythmic push (especially Reach). The post-Tristano continuum sounds so fresh here that (4) is unequivocally recommended. [--Andy Bartlett, CADENCE Magazine, April 1995, page 95]
The legacy of Lennie Tristano lives on in musicians who he probably never met. The late pianist-teacher believed strongly in chordal improvisation with long lines and odd accents from the soloists, quiet rhythm sections restricted to timekeeping and the use of common chord changes that were disguised by the substitution of new melodies and song titles. Altoist Lee Konitz and tenor-saxophonist Warne Marsh were his finest students.
Altoist Richard Tabnik, whose unusual tone and intonation will take some getting used to, does not sound like Konitz but follows some of the same principles taught by Tristano. Guitarist Andy Fite's offers a fine second voice while bassist Calvin Hill and drummer Roger Mancuso fulfill their roles as timekeepers. All seven songs on this CD are "originals" that are usually based on earlier standards; for example, "Reach" is really "All of Me", "Soliloquy" is a spacey "Body and Soul", "Timescapes" has similarities to "I'll Remember April", "Dearest" is "These Foolish Things", etc.
This is stimulating music that is worth the struggle to meet halfway. But why no liner notes? [--Scott Yanow, L.A. JAZZ SCENE, November 1996]
The first impression is of an idiosyncratic modern altoist whose early model might have been Lee Konitz. But upon closer listening, it seems that the late tenorist Warne Marsh could have been an inspiration as well, especially in the way Tabnik's lines snake around the beat, catching up with it here and there and even obscuring it on occasion. Guitarist Andy Fite, bassist Calvin Hill, and drummer Roger Mancuso do keep the metric underpinnings secure, however. If the shrill edge to his tone is not too off-putting, the altoist's adventurous improvisations might hold the attentive listener's interest in a way that much of the contemporary rehashing of yesterday's licks cannot. [--David Franklin, JAZZTIMES, March, 1997]
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